


Here To Help

by FinnKaenbyou



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-03 19:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12152925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinnKaenbyou/pseuds/FinnKaenbyou
Summary: It's not exactly an incident, but some assistance certainly wouldn't hurt. [Aunn/Reimu short]





	Here To Help

Aunn loved having nothing to report.

“Oooh. Pretty.”

The komainu swept at her podium with her tail, watching the leaves trickle onto the shrine stairway. There were no intruders to bark at, no fairies tugging at her ears, and no incidents threatening to turn Gensokyo on its head. Most youkai would have found this all quite boring, but Aunn considered it the sign of a job well done. And it gave her time to appreciate the lovely scenery.

It was a beautiful display, watching the fall leaves flutter through the air. It wasn't quite as splendid as the four seasons incident a little while back, but it was still a sight she could lose hours watching. She worried for a moment that they'd clog up the staircase, but the wind carried them away before things turned truly treacherous.

The courtyard was another matter.

“Haaaaah…”

A familiar forlorn sigh heaved out behind Aunn. She spun around to see Reimu fumbling with a rickety broom, struggling to bring the dead leaves in check. Every time the shrine maiden managed to pile the leaves together, a gust of wind sent them scattering again. With how hard she was gripping the broom, it was a wonder that it wasn't snapping in half.

“Miss Reimu!” Aunn waved at her from the shrine gate. “Are you alright?”

“Wha-” Reimu jumped before she swung her neck around. “Oh. You're still here.”

“Of course I am!” Aunn pouted as she hopped off the podium. “I'd be a lousy guardian if I wasn't.”

“I don't remember ever hiring you.” Reimu's foul mood seeped into her knitted brow. “And I’ve got enough youkai freeloading off me already. Can’t you find another shrine to pester?”

“Yeah, but this is where all the action happens.” Aunn stared at the ground. “Plus the last time I left, we had that big earthquake that wrecked the whole shrine.”

“Well, luckily for you, the ground's behaving today.” Reimu stabbed at a puddle of leaves with her broom. “I just can't SEE it with all this crap in the way. So if you could kindly find someone else to pester, I'd appreciate it.”

Aunn quietly shook her head. It was clear that Reimu needed a helping hand, but she was too stubborn to ask for it. It was classic behaviour for the shrine maiden; handling everything herself, no matter how outmatched she was.

Unfortunately for her, Aunn didn't need permission to do her job.

“Hrrm.” The komainu stepped into the courtyard, crumpling the leaves beneath her heels. “Let's see here...”

“Wait, what're you doing?” Reimu snapped. “Didn't you hear me when I told you to-”

Aunn wasn't paying attention to the threats. She was squatting down on the floor, expertly scooping up errant leaves with her tail. Every sweep pushed them to her right, and she waddled along with the forming pile.

“Bring them over here,” she said, pointing to a corner of the courtyard. “The treeline should stop the wind from blowing them away.”

Reimu started an objection, but seemed to think better of it when she saw the fruits of Aunn's labour. Before long she was quietly following the komainu's orders, gathering the leaves together well out of anyone's path.

Fifteen minutes later, the courtyard was almost leaf-free. The stack was almost as tall as Aunn herself, and it took a great deal of self-control not to hurl herself into it. She pushed out her chest, choosing instead to bask in her latest victory.

“Huh.” Reimu scratched at her cheek, struggling to look Aunn head-on. “You’re better at this than I thought.”

“Keeping the shrine clean is part of my job, too.” Aunn grinned, one fang popping over her bottom lip. “See, Miss Reimu? I’m here to help.”

Reimu looked like she was trying her best to be angry, contorting her face into a wretched expression. Eventually she gave up, dropping her broom onto the leaf pile with a hefty sigh.

“I guess that’s one problem dealt with.” Reimu rolled her eyes. “Until a fairy flies past and turns this thing into her nature fortress, anyway.”

“I can help with that, too!” Aunn hopped closer to Reimu, ears wagging. “Twenty-four hour surveillance to keep your shrine fairy-free. Well, maybe not twenty-four hours, actually. I do have to nap sometimes. But it’ll be close!”

“...You’re going to do it even if I say no, aren’t you?”

“Yup yup!” Aunn offered the shrine maiden a faithful salute. “Wherever I’m needed, you can bet I’ll be there. And don’t worry about payment or anything – a job well done is its own reward!”

Reimu’s face shifted for an instant. Aunn could have sworn she saw the human’s mouth twitch, her lip curling upwards ever so slightly. Whatever it had been, it didn’t hang around for long.

“You damn youkai are so inconsiderate.” Reimu looked over to the leaf pile. “But I guess an extra pair of hands couldn’t hurt.”

“Really?” Aunn’s eyes lit up. “Thanks so much, Miss Reimu-”

“Besides, mascot characters are all the rage nowadays.”

The komainu blinked. “Eh?”

“Animal girls are the hot trend in the human village.” Reimu rubbed her hands together, disappearing into her own little world. “If I say the shrine’s got a cute dog standing guard, visitors are gonna go through the roof. Maybe I’ll offer them free tail strokes if they’re generous enough in their donations? Man, the more I think of it, the more it seems like a license to print money!”

Aunn felt a cold sweat form on her brow.  _On second thought, I think I just made a really big mistake..._


End file.
